Ripto's Reformation (Spyro 2)

Rival Roommates

Ripto has been doing very well now for the past couple of months. He's warmed up to the dragons and is not really afraid of them anymore. Sure, he still gets a little nervous when their around but, he quickly calms himself down now knowing that if the dragons truly wanted to harm or threaten him then, they probably would have done so. However, Ripto did remain wary of Spyro's childish antics. At least, the good news was that Spyro started to take things down a notch and even started to announce his arrival rather than sneak in and scare Ripto.

While Ripto was grateful for what the dragons have done for him so far, he knew that sooner or later he would have to start speaking up for himself instead of acting like a young child following orders. That is why Ripto had planned on talking to Gavin tomorrow, when they were alone, and see if he could have somewhere new to stay at because the pantry in the tavern was becoming a bit uncomfortable for him to sleep in. He just had to hope that Gavin would agree with his wish and allow him to have his own home.

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"Afternoon Ripto," Gavin said cheerfully. "How are you doing?" "Excellent, I just finished giving a to-go order to Lateef," replied Ripto and then took a breath in and out before speaking again. "Umm Gavin, may I ask you something?" "Of course, ask away my Dino." Gavin said as he gave Ripto his full attention. "I was wondering if I could have a new place to stay N-NOT that the pantry is bad place to stay I j-just think that maybe I could try to-" Ripto tried to explain in a little panic when suddenly there was a big hand gently placed over his snout. "Okay okay, calm down Ripto," Gavin laughed a bit. "I understand. While the tavern was still being built, I slept in the pantry too and the next morning my back was killing me!" Gavin exclaimed. "So, I get why you want your own place."

Ripto looked up at Gavin hopefully, "so, you allow me to get my own place?" Ripto asked the hope not leaving his eyes until he heard what Gavin's response was. "Well, actually my Dino friend," Gavin started while rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "The reason I had you stay in the pantry was because there was no places available for you to live in and building a new place takes a lot more time than you may think, i'm sorry." Immediately, Ripto's happiness and hope was replaced with sadness and anger. The latter which he has learned to control thanks to Gavin's teachings.

"Hello, anyone here?" A young voice asked. Ripto and Gavin both looked in the direction of where the voice came from to see that the owner was none other than Spyro. "Ahh, Spyro what's the good word?" Gavin greeted. "Just two words: mail call!" Spyro replied while revealing a crate with sparx posing on top of it. As Ripto rolled his eyes at the so called 'funny' the young dragon and his puny dragonfly pal just made, Gavin went over and thanked the purple child with a smile then gave Ripto the request to unload the crate in the pantry to which the adult Dino complied.

When Ripto returned from doing the task, he realized that Gavin was telling Spyro about how he was doing... including his recent request for a new place to stay!!! Before he could even stop Gavin from saying anything further to Spyro, the next words that came from the purple creature's snout almost gave him a heart attack. "Maybe, Ripto could stay with me." Spyro suggested as sparx let out a buzzed 'WHAT'. "Really Spyro," Gavin asked his voice laced with concern, "are you sure Ripto will be comfortable in your den?" "Yeah, I have room for another bed in my den and let's be honest I am better acquainted with Ripto then you guys are." Spyro explained. "Hmm, you have a point there Spyro," Gavin stated and looked over to Ripto, knowing he was listening the entire time. "What do you say Ripto, would you be alright staying with Spyro?"

Ripto was just about to object to the suggestion but, first thought about it. If he rejected this decision, he would just be stuck sleeping in the pantry until there was a new place built and heaven knows when that would be. He may hate Spyro with the burning passion of his very soul but, the purple beast was willing to give up his solitude just so, he could have a more comfortable place to stay. Ripto also knew that it wouldn't be permanent it would just be until a new place was made for him. So, Ripto took in a deep breath and accepted the offer as Spyro smiled, Gavin looked a little relieved and sparx face palmed.

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Ripto arrived at the purple demon's den, a bag of clothes given to him by Gavin clutched tightly in his little paw. He took a deep breath in and out then entered the den and to his surprise it looked nothing like he imagined it to be. The room had a soft light yellow rug that covered the entire floor, lavender colored walls and ceiling with light gray streaks on them designed to look like smoke. There was a small bookshelf in the center of the back wall with a lantern on top of it, probably used as a source of light at night. Finally, there was two identical beds the one on the left had purple sheets and a purple blanket with flame designs on it. The bed on the right looked the same except it had red sheets and a red blanket as well as a little note on the edge.

Ripto cautiously approached the bed and picked up the note to read it. 'Hey shorty, if you couldn't guess already this bed is yours. I wasn't sure what your favorite color was so, I assumed that it was red. If I was wrong then i'm sorry, I wanted it to be a surprise for you. A little welcoming present ya know. Anyway, I hope you will be comfortable. Go ahead and settle in, i'll see you before dusk. Your new roommate, Spyro'. Once Ripto finished reading the front of the note, he turned the note around to see one final statement written, 'A.K.A. Flame Breath'.

Ripto couldn't help but, grin and laugh a bit about how Spyro remembered the nickname he gave him. "I see you found my note." Spyro said as he came in. Ripto stopped laughing and nearly screamed when he heard the sudden voice, when he turned to see it was Spyro he face immediately turned into a scowl. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" He yelled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya." Spyro said calmly. Ripto sighed pinching the bridge of his snout. "I can't believe that you are actually doing this for me." Said Ripto wanting to cover up his out burst. "It was no trouble at all." Spyro replied heading over to his side of the room. It was Ripto's turn to speak again. "I still can't believe that you remembered the nickname I called you back in avalar." He laughed. "I can't believe you actually forgot that nickname," Spyro laughed back. "Hm, and you said that it would be a bad idea to add that in the note." Spyro said to his dragonfly friend. Sparx just huffed and crossed his arms as he sent a death glare to Ripto.

Ripto looked at the moody dragonfly and then sent Spyro a look as if to ask 'what's up with him'. "Sparx is just upset that I said you could stay here even though were rivals." Spyro explained. "Does he also stay here?" Asked Ripto. "Nah, he always goes off on his own at dusk, which was basically 5 minutes ago but, he wanted to make sure you wouldn't 'try' anything." Spyro replied as he made it a point that sparx should leave as to not make Ripto uncomfortable. Sparx stuck his tongue out at Spyro to which the dragon did the same, he then flew towards the door but not before giving Ripto the 'i'm watching you' sign.

Ripto shook his head as he took off his shoes and got in to the bed. He was surprised at how soft the sheets and blanket really were, even the pillow was so soft it could have been mistaken for an actual cloud. He rolled over on his side facing away from Spyro and trying to drift off to sleep but, even under the comfortable sheets, Ripto still felt uneasy. He knew how Spyro was like and he feared that if he were to fall asleep the dragon would most likely do something that would torment him for life.

"Fun fact about dragons: they can sense fear." Spyro finally said as Ripto froze despite being in the warm bed. "Listen Ripto, I know you don't trust me," he started, "but I don't want to hurt you. Do you honestly believe that I was happy when I kept scaring you. If so, i'm gonna tell you now that you're wrong. I can tell that you were obviously mistreated by dragons before in the past and I may not know how or why but, I do know that it traumatized you pretty bad. I want to let you know now Ripto, that I won't do anymore harsh pranks on you, especially since you're my new roommate."

Ripto laid still and processed exactly every word the young dragon had spoken to him then he finally spoke. "You promise?" He asked. "I promise." The dragon responded. "Night, shorty." Spyro said with a snicker. Ripto hummed then smiled softly, "night, flame breathe." They both closed their eyes and went into slumber knowing very well that they had each others back.